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Italian and Portuguese students (Erasmus Program) and a student from Taiwan, who participated in classes at the School in the summer semester 2005/2006; fourth from the left: Magdalena Kobus 18 EVENTS Photo: Archives J.I.-S.: First of all, the school offers two types of courses. One is aimed at academic students and PhD candidates, many of whom come to Szczecin within the LLP Erasmus framework or to complete studies or via internships mainly at Szczecin University. Our educational offer also proved useful for students at Szczecin Polytechnic University and the of Szczecin University of Agriculture, which are now combined and known as the West Pomeranian University of Technology. Other students come from the School of Higher Education in Humanities and the Higher School of Applied Arts. The other type of course is commercial language training. This is addressed to the so-called “city students”. Their reasons for learning the Polish language vary, but the most important ones are professional work, plans to begin studies in Poland and/or a relationship with a Polish person. Less common, though still significant, is an interest in Polish culture and literature and the eagerness to know it better. People with such passions generally combine learning Polish with leisure time in our city. Thus, they attend intensive courses. Usually, they also have clearly specified expectations toward the syllabus as not only do they wish to acquire basic communicative skills but rather a knowledge of Polish customs, traditions, cultural heritage, history and geography. It is worth mentioning that there is great interest in Poland’s literary Nobel Prize winners Czesław Miłosz and Wisława Szymborska. Even basic-level students ask us to familiarize them with their poetry. L.W.: Where do the students come from? J.I.-S.: There is a diverse range of nationalities among our students. Most of them come from Germany, Italy, Spain and Turkey. Italians and Turks comprise the majority of students that arrive from the LLP Erasmus Framework. In the current academic year, we also taught a considerable group of Chechen citizens. Representatives of other countries, such as Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Great Britain, France, Norway, Switzerland, Pakistan and China, use our services to a lesser degree. It must be mentioned that the role of the Polish Language and Culture School is not merely a didactic one. We also make efforts to support foreigners in organizing their everyday life, especially those who come to Poland for the first time. We help our students to cope in real-life situations and to overcome the shock that is often experienced when coming into contact with an unfamiliar culture. A substantial group of our students feel a bit lost upon arriving and often lack the support of friends and family. This was the case with a group of Chinese, who were our students last year. Hence, the school is a place where foreigners meet new people and make friends. L.W.: What other possibilities does the school offer its students? J.I.-S.: The School enables the students to participate in the scientific life of the University. The intermediate-level students who manage written and spoken Polish well participate in scientific sessions arranged by the SU Students’ Slavicist Club. Lesya Chayjka, for instance, presented a paper on Phraseological expressions with the component “language” that was published in the second volume of The World of Slavs in Language and Culture. And Anja Peist presented a text on Polish-German language and culture connections that was published in volume four. An article devoted to Polish-Russian phraseology by Helena Juchniewicz is awaiting publication. L.W.: What sort of courses does the school offer foreigners and the Polish community at present? J.I.-S.: We offer courses of various levels, which can be completed in the form of group classes – consisting of a minimum of two people – or individually. Standard courses comprise 60 hours of didactic classes and can be conducted in a semester system or intensively during summer or winter holidays. Apart from this, there are courses custom-tailored to the needs of a student with respect to the number of hours, level of learning and duration. L.W.: What are the plans for the anniversary and in the years ahead? J.I.-S.: In connection with the 10th jubilee of our activity, we prepared a scholarly conference themed on the teaching Polish as a foreign language in the phenomena of modern culture. The conference took place in Szczecin on November 27. The papers presented during the conference concerned both theoretical and practical issues of teaching Polish as a foreign language. All the papers will be published in a post-conference volume. We intend to continue the formula of such one-day meetings to assist in developing our instructional methodology. Common discussion and the sharing didactic problems and achievements significantly raise the qualifications of our lecturers. We also intend to launch a post-graduate program in Polish as a Foreign Language, whose offer is still being prepared and should be available on the website of the Institute of Polish Philology and Culture early in 2010. I’d like to mention some of the female lecturers are students of doctoral studies at Szczecin University. Dissertations are being prepared by Magdalena Kobus, Ksenia Olkowska and Anna Szyntor-Bykowska. In the next academic year, the school are going to enter a competition for summer intensive Polish language courses for LLP Erasmus students.
THE REGION, EUROPE, THE WORLD MURMAŃSK – A New Scholarly Challenge Is Polish-Russian collaboration just a remnant of the past? On the contrary! For many years, Murmansk has been Szczecin’s twin city for many years, and our University is now undertaking cooperation with the Murmansk State Pedagogical University. Murmansk is the largest Russian city north of the Arctic Circle, bearing particular economic importance because its port on the Barents Sea remains ice-free all year round. Established in 1916, the city constituted a strategic naval base for Soviet submarines carrying nuclear missiles and was the main fishing and shipping port in the Soviet Union. Currently, it is the home port of the Russian fleet. Due to its long-standing marine traditions, it has well-developed food (fish) processing and shipyard (mainly ship repair yards) industries. Though its splendor years are long gone, Murmansk inhabitants pay special attention to fostering contacts with its twin cities, which include: Akureyri (Iceland), Gröningen (Holland), Jacksonville (USA), Luleå (Sweden), Minsk (Belarus), Rovaniemi (Finland), Szczecin (Poland), Tromsø (Norway), and Vadsø (Norway). One of the crucial areas involving these contacts is science, which always rises above differences. Murmansk State Pedagogical University Established in 1939, the Murmansk State Pedagogical University (MSPU) is the oldest university on the Kola Peninsula and, in that region, the only university comprising social studies among its interests. At present, the university is divided into ten faculties: Russian History and Philology, Preschool Education, Culture and Arts, Primary School Education, Natural Sciences, Linguistics, Physics and Mathematics, Special Pedagogy and Psychology, Technology, Design and Architecture, and Postgraduate Studies. Owing to the city’s and, as it goes, the university’s short history, MSPU’s academic traditions are still not deeply rooted. However, we may observe the intensive progress in the areas of education and research, confirmed by the strengthening of collaboration with partner universities. Despite the fact that MSPU employs only 303 members of academic staff, they undertake a series of research assignments in cooperation with international consortia, mainly with partner universities from Norway and Finland. The chief study areas include: pedagogy, social welfare, history, philosophy, mathematics, physics, geography, ecology, and linguistics. The university places great emphasis on practical Katarzyna Łobacz, MA Faculty of Management and Economics of Services A visit to the MSPU Museum of History. From left to right: Prof. Piotr Niedzielski, Katarzyna Łobacz, Prof. Andrzej Witkowski, Barbara Rodziewicz PhD, museum employee, Eugeniusz Kisiel, Prof. Ewa Szuszkiewicz, Prof. Stanisław Musielak Photo: Andrzej Witkowski’s archives 19
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